Oftentimes during surgery, tissue is sewn together to repair or reconstruct a defect. When the tissue is reconnected, the arteries and some of the veins are anastomosed or connected. During the healing phase, the arteries may supply blood to the repaired tissue faster than the veins can remove the blood. This can lead to pooling of blood in the repaired tissue and can cause local tissue congestion and necrosis.
Due to this problem, surgeons require a way to remove blood from the surgically repaired tissue. The current standard of practice is to use live leeches. The leeches attach to the tissue, supply a local anticoagulant, and remove blood. Although effective, the leeches can be difficult to maintain, store only a limited amount of blood and can cause infections. In addition, it is difficult to measurably and precisely control the fluid removal and the anticoagulant infusion provided by the leeches. For these reasons and others, there is a need for a device that can effectively, safely and reliably remove blood from surgically repaired tissues.